Violence against women in Turkey on rise

Male violence against women is a huge and growing problem in Turkey. A report at a conference– dubbed as “Violence against Women in Turkey” and held by Bilgi University, and the Mor Cati foundation– reveals some startling statistics about the issue.

Around 40s% of women have been physically or sexually abused by their husband or partner, half of whom never speak to anyone about this.

Worryingly, less than 10% approach government institutions for support, and when they do, the police often prefer to attempt to “reconcile” the families rather than protecting them.

Official figures are hard to come by as there is no systematic way of gathering them.

In 2013, women’s rights groups estimated that 28,000 women were exposed to violence, and horrifically 214 were killed, pushing the figure murdered to nearly 1,000 over the past four years.

By law, every municipality with more than 50,000 inhabitants must have at least one women’s shelter, but there are just 79 in the whole country, although the government have pledged another 250.

The first independent women’s shelter was set up by Mor Cati in 1993, and they estimate that the country needs at least 1,000 to meet the needs of battered women and their children.

The Turkish government has been criticized for making all the right noises about violence against women, but actually doing little on the ground to fight this shameful stain on Turkey’s conscience.

A link to the article can be found here.